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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Maybe the writing style was just not for me but it felt like the author took a fascinating topic and somehow made it extremely boring.
The subtitle of the book is “ufo culture and why we see saucers,” so I was expecting something of an anthropological study, personal stories and interviews with people and an in-depth analysis into why humans are obsessed with ufos. There certainly was some of that but a much larger percentage of the book is just essentially repetitive debunking of various ufology projects. The parts where she visits various ufo tourist spots are marginally more interesting.
Throughout the whole book the author is so openly smug and clearly believes she is smarter than most of the people she interviews.
Even in the parts where there are personal stories and descriptions of her conversations with people, she is often dismissive and flippant towards people’s stories.
In one part, for example, she describes her conversation with a woman while the she and the woman eat at a diner. She continuously intercuts the woman’s words with descriptions of how gross she (the author) finds the food the woman is eating. As if she wants us to know that she was so preoccupied with watching this woman eat something she doesn’t like the look of, that she couldn’t fully listen to her. And she wants to transmit that experience to the reader. Why??
The subtitle of the book is “ufo culture and why we see saucers,” so I was expecting something of an anthropological study, personal stories and interviews with people and an in-depth analysis into why humans are obsessed with ufos. There certainly was some of that but a much larger percentage of the book is just essentially repetitive debunking of various ufology projects. The parts where she visits various ufo tourist spots are marginally more interesting.
Throughout the whole book the author is so openly smug and clearly believes she is smarter than most of the people she interviews.
Even in the parts where there are personal stories and descriptions of her conversations with people, she is often dismissive and flippant towards people’s stories.
In one part, for example, she describes her conversation with a woman while the she and the woman eat at a diner. She continuously intercuts the woman’s words with descriptions of how gross she (the author) finds the food the woman is eating. As if she wants us to know that she was so preoccupied with watching this woman eat something she doesn’t like the look of, that she couldn’t fully listen to her. And she wants to transmit that experience to the reader. Why??
This is a fairly enjoyable read that never quite delivers its promise. Basically, this is simply an extended piece of journalism. There's quite a bit of well-known background information and some rather unexciting reportage from UFO conferences and places the author travelled to. We never really build up an understanding of the UFO culture beyond the fact that there's a range of views from out and out sceptics to true believers. Who would have guessed?
Sarah Scoles writes in an informal hipster style befitting her background at Wired which mostly is readable but can occasionally be difficult to understand, maybe especially for non-US readers.
Sarah Scoles writes in an informal hipster style befitting her background at Wired which mostly is readable but can occasionally be difficult to understand, maybe especially for non-US readers.
Good book. Contained a lot of points of view shared (mostly) with compassion and (very often) with a lot of research. Forced me to think about UFOlogy in terms I previously hadn’t. Her shifts from reporting to editorializing (and vice versa) were occasionally not smooth and a bit distracting, but mostly this book would get a rec from me for anyone interested in the people who look for saucers.
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This is a fantastic read on military/aerospace history (Area 51/Groom Lake, Roswell, Project Blue Book, etc.) and the psychology behind public interest and belief in UFOs (and conspiracy broadly). She speaks to believers, attends UFO conferences, and tries to understand why people continue to be fascinated or believe in the phenomenon. If you're looking for stories or accounts about UFOs or abductions, this is not the book for you.
Although adequately written, this book only got two stars because I'm getting tired of being sucked in by a misleading title and book description.
You would think, by the title and the book's inside cover description, that this book would be about telling of extraterrestrials already being on earth, but it is not. It attempts to debunk the belief that UFOs are real, and they are vehicles propelled by extraterrestrials. Well, although I've never had an encounter of the third kind, I have seen more than one saucer-shaped UFO. This was in the late 1970s, and I was not the only witness. I was with three other friends, and we all witnessed the same thing!
You would think, by the title and the book's inside cover description, that this book would be about telling of extraterrestrials already being on earth, but it is not. It attempts to debunk the belief that UFOs are real, and they are vehicles propelled by extraterrestrials. Well, although I've never had an encounter of the third kind, I have seen more than one saucer-shaped UFO. This was in the late 1970s, and I was not the only witness. I was with three other friends, and we all witnessed the same thing!
informative
medium-paced
(Full disclosure: Book abandoned on page 74, out of 228 pages.)
Considering the universe is infinite and that Earth is teeming with life, it makes sense that other planets--a countless number--with their own kind of life, exist. It also makes sense that these planets could be home to some life that’s significantly more intelligent than human beings and with bodies that function totally differently. If one accepts this, it’s not a leap to accept that this other life could build and travel in crafts that can move at the speed of light. In 2017, The New York Times reported on its front page that the Pentagon suspects this: It's acknowledged a secret program to investigate UFOs and alien sightings. Fascinating footage of unexplainable phenomena was later released. Surprisingly, the bombshell revelation attracted minimal attention from the public, despite being the most incredible, life-changing piece of news ever reported.
Wanting to know more, I was eager to read They Are Already Here. Author Sarah Scoles delivered--a little. Among some other tidbits, I learned that “there were more than 121,000 sightings reported in the US from 2001-2015” (a low number, as most sightings don’t get reported). Smokers and dog-owners report the most because they’re outside a lot. And importantly, to keep the masses calm, the government’s ethos in general is “Publicly de-bunk and treat the matter lightly, and privately investigate and take the matter seriously.”
Scoles opened with a hook: a recounting of her own night-time encounter with a mysterious object. But sadly, her book is largely unsatisfying. She pretty much presented a dry chronicle of the government’s program to investigate UFOs, sprinkled with civilian efforts from two UFO enthusiasts (one coincidentally being Blink-182’s former guitarist and songwriter, Tom DeLonge).
I was hoping for more personal accounts like Scoles’s, along with some profiles of reliable witnesses encountering the unexplainable. I also wanted to read educated theories about which galaxy these UFOs could be traveling from and what they may be looking for (many have been sighted hovering near nuclear testing sites, with visits increasing after detonations). I wanted to read description of how the alien crafts operate and what they look like and of any alien material that’s been recovered. Basically, I wanted far fewer dull government specifics and many more compelling extraterrestrial specifics. Maybe Scoles went in this direction later, but my skimming of the rest of the book seems to indicate otherwise, and even so, it would be too little too late. Scoles is an intelligent person who’s written for many reputable publications, so she does know how to report. She just didn’t present extraordinary subject matter in the compulsively readable way it deserves.
With that said, I’m happy to report that the captivating 2020 documentary "The Phenomenon" offers everything Scoles’s book does not, enough that I probably didn’t need to read They Are Already Here anyway. This is a must-watch for those curious to find out more about various sightings the Pentagon has been investigating for decades. Skip this. Watch that.
Considering the universe is infinite and that Earth is teeming with life, it makes sense that other planets--a countless number--with their own kind of life, exist. It also makes sense that these planets could be home to some life that’s significantly more intelligent than human beings and with bodies that function totally differently. If one accepts this, it’s not a leap to accept that this other life could build and travel in crafts that can move at the speed of light. In 2017, The New York Times reported on its front page that the Pentagon suspects this: It's acknowledged a secret program to investigate UFOs and alien sightings. Fascinating footage of unexplainable phenomena was later released. Surprisingly, the bombshell revelation attracted minimal attention from the public, despite being the most incredible, life-changing piece of news ever reported.
Wanting to know more, I was eager to read They Are Already Here. Author Sarah Scoles delivered--a little. Among some other tidbits, I learned that “there were more than 121,000 sightings reported in the US from 2001-2015” (a low number, as most sightings don’t get reported). Smokers and dog-owners report the most because they’re outside a lot. And importantly, to keep the masses calm, the government’s ethos in general is “Publicly de-bunk and treat the matter lightly, and privately investigate and take the matter seriously.”
Scoles opened with a hook: a recounting of her own night-time encounter with a mysterious object. But sadly, her book is largely unsatisfying. She pretty much presented a dry chronicle of the government’s program to investigate UFOs, sprinkled with civilian efforts from two UFO enthusiasts (one coincidentally being Blink-182’s former guitarist and songwriter, Tom DeLonge).
I was hoping for more personal accounts like Scoles’s, along with some profiles of reliable witnesses encountering the unexplainable. I also wanted to read educated theories about which galaxy these UFOs could be traveling from and what they may be looking for (many have been sighted hovering near nuclear testing sites, with visits increasing after detonations). I wanted to read description of how the alien crafts operate and what they look like and of any alien material that’s been recovered. Basically, I wanted far fewer dull government specifics and many more compelling extraterrestrial specifics. Maybe Scoles went in this direction later, but my skimming of the rest of the book seems to indicate otherwise, and even so, it would be too little too late. Scoles is an intelligent person who’s written for many reputable publications, so she does know how to report. She just didn’t present extraordinary subject matter in the compulsively readable way it deserves.
With that said, I’m happy to report that the captivating 2020 documentary "The Phenomenon" offers everything Scoles’s book does not, enough that I probably didn’t need to read They Are Already Here anyway. This is a must-watch for those curious to find out more about various sightings the Pentagon has been investigating for decades. Skip this. Watch that.